More than 60,000 people visit the St. Jude Shrine at St. Dominic’s Church every year to light a candle, say a prayer and seek solace from their suffering. The shrine — founded by the Dominican friars in 1935 in the middle of the Great Depression to bring hope to a world that desperately needed it — is celebrating its 75th anniversary on October 28. Its mission continues unchanged — and gains new potency — as we find ourselves once again in the midst of a financial crisis.
Two years ago I joined the Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus as chief administrative officer after 13 years as parish administrator of St. Dominic’s. In these two years, I have been impressed by the intensity of devotion people feel for St. Jude. For them, he truly is “the saint for desperate and difficult cases” and “the saint of the impossible.”

There has been a resurgence of devotion as the economy has cratered over the last couple of years. Judging by the tone and content of letters we receive — and the growth in the number of pilgrims who visit the shrine — the increased intensity reflects the desperation caused by loss of homes, jobs and general dislocation.

The rise in devotion to St. Jude has led some to liken it to a cult. Some even associate him with Mexico’s cultish Saint of Death, which has of late seen a surge in popularity. The New York Times recently posted a video on its website, “Streetwise Saint Joins Mexico Drug War,” in which it describes how thousands of Mexico City gang youth have begun making monthly pilgrimages carrying candles, rosaries and effigies of St. Jude as the unofficial local patron saint of addicts.

Unfortunately, public confusion over this and other reports has spawned disquieting phone calls and letters to us from true devotees of St. Jude who are upset that the local shrine might be somehow associated with narco-gangs — however far-fetched the connection — or that faithful Catholics are regarded in some quarters as cultists.

In fact, we remain what we have always been: a ministry of hope in a world woefully in need of it. There are shrines to St. Jude in New York, Baltimore, Chicago, New Orleans and other places around the world.

The story is told with brio in the book “Jude: A Pilgrimage to the Saint of Last Resort,” by the television journalist Liz Trotta. She will come from New York this month to participate in our 75th anniversary celebration. She will give a lecture on her pilgrimage through Turkey following the trail of Jude at St. Dominic’s on October 27 at 7:30 p.m.

St. Dominic’s Shrine of St. Jude sponsors an annual pilgrimage that draws thousands of people from across California and parts of Central and South America. They walk for miles through the streets of San Francisco to the Shrine of St. Jude, for mass and a celebration. This year’s pilgrimage of approximately seven miles will be on Saturday, October 23. It starts at St. Finn Barr’s Church at 415 Edna Street in San Francisco.

Current Issue

STREET TALK

TWO TOP TOQUES AT FILLMORE & PINE

He’s not ready just yet to serve up the new name or the food concept planned for the now-shuttered and butcher-papered space on the northwest corner of Pine and Fillmore. But John Litz, who jettisoned the old Thai Stick sign last month, just introduced his partners in the venture he’s set to establish there: the top toque team of Sayat and Laura Ozyilmaz.

Between them, the two chefs have cooked at five of the 50 world’s best restaurants, according to the respected San Pellegrino list for 2018, including: 111 Madison Park and Le Bernardin in Manhattan, Blue Hill at Stone Barn in Tarrytown, N.Y., Murgaritz in San Sebastian, Spain, and San Francisco’s own Saison. All are either Michelin two or three star rated. Currently the duo are owner-chefs of Istanbul Modern SF, a pop-up restaurant on Russian Hill.

It seems fitting that the former shoe repair shop at 2448 Fillmore has been reborn as a shoe store. But while it offers ballet flats, as many other shops do, Rothy’s is not like the rest. Its flats are made in China from recycled plastic water bottles.

“Look good in your Rothy’s and feel good about your Rothy’s,” boasts the online company, which now has its first brick-and-mortar store.

THREE NEW SPOTS OPEN IN THE LOWER FILLMORE

The craft grocer Merchant Roots is now open at 1365 Fillmore, offering gourmet packaged items, prepared food and dinner three nights each week.

The LoMo got another notable new restaurant when the pop-up RTB Fillmore reopened in April at 1552 Fillmore as Avery. It offers tasting menus at $89, $189 and $289, with wine or sake pairings.

A few blocks south at 1521 Eddy, the Fillmore Social Club is open and serving up Korean cuisine in what once was Gussie’s Chicken & Waffles.

COMING TO FILLMORE: WINE WITH VERVE

The former Gimme Shoes shop at 2358 Fillmore — in recent months a series of pop-ups — now has its city approvals to be transformed into Verve, a wine store also offering tastings and other events.

Verve already has a similar shop in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood, where it offers “a curated selection of global greatest hits.”

LET US COUNT OUR MICHELIN STARS

How fortunate are we to live in this neighborhood? The new Michelin guide offers a clue.

• Three Fillmore restaurants got a star: SPQR, the Progress and State Bird Provisions, plus Octavia at Octavia and Bush and Spruce on Sacramento.

• At 3127 Fillmore, Atelier Crenn got two stars.

• And we can still claim Quince, now all beautifully grown up in Jackson Square, which got a full set of three stars, and first planted its roots where Octavia is now.

That’s not all: Dosa and Sociale are on the Bib Gourmands list of restaurants with “exceptionally good food at moderate prices.” (And so is Quince’s handsome brother, Cotogna.)